Massive Blizzard in New Jersey This Week in 1978

For those of us over a certain age, something has changed.  Growing up in New Jersey in the '70s, we always seemed to have one or two really big snowstorms each winter.

When I talk about snow storms, I'm talking about the snow that would come up to our hips.  As kids, we'd listen to the radio waiting to hear the magic words, "The East Windsor School District is closed today..."

Is it me, or does it seem like those snowstorms of yesteryear are much less common?

This week in 1978, New Jersey and most of the Northeast were hit with a blizzard of epic proportions.  Here in New Jersey, between February 5th and the 7th, we were blanketed with over 15 inches of snow.  The Northern part of the state took the biggest brunt of this storm, but the whole state got something.

Virtually everything shut down and 17 people in New Jersey lost their lives.

The Jersey Shore was hit particularly hard as the snow caused severe damage to boardwalks at Seaside Heights and other damage to shore towns up and down the Jersey coastline.

According to The Farmer's Almanac,  during the Blizzard of '78, Atlantic City set a new record for snowfall with 20 inches of the white stuff before it was over.  Parts of New Jersey saw snow drifts of fifteen feet or more.

In case you were wondering, The National Weather Service isn't predicting much in the way of snow for our region.  Some parts of our region will see temperatures in the upper 50s before the end of the month.